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We review poetry on a rolling basis, but ask that you please not submit more than twice in a twelve-month period. You may send up to six poems (in a single document) per submission. Our response time is around six months.

We are interested in original, unpublished poetry. We do not consider work that has appeared elsewhere. This includes websites and personal blogs, even if a posting has been removed prior to submission .

We do consider translations, so long as the poem has not been published in English translation before. The original text may have been published elsewhere. 

Simultaneous submissions are welcome, provided that you notify us promptly if a poem has been accepted by another publication. If you need to withdraw individual poems from consideration, please click on the title of your submission; click on the "Messages" tab; and send a message detailing which poem(s) should be withdrawn. (Do not use the "Note" tab for this purpose—Submittable "Notes" are viewable only by the submitter, and information you enter as a note will not reach our team.) Please only use the "Withdraw" function if you intend to remove all poems from consideration.

Thank you for your interest in contributing to The New Yorker. We look forward to reading your poems.

We review poetry on a rolling basis, but ask that you please not submit more than twice in a twelve-month period. You may send up to six poems (in a single document) per submission. Our response time is usually around six months, but may be longer. 

How To Submit Your Short Story To The New Yorker

As one of the most prestigious publications for fiction, poets, and journalists, The New Yorker receives thousands of short story submissions every year. But with its famously rigorous selection process, getting published in The New Yorker is no easy feat. If you want to submit your own literary short story, you’ll need to make sure your work and cover letter stand out among the competition.

If you’re short on time, here’s a quick overview: To submit to The New Yorker, email your story as a Word doc or .rtf file under 5,000 words. Include a cover letter with details about your work. Adhere to their strict formatting guidelines and only submit finished drafts of your very best work.

Understand The New Yorker’s Submission Criteria

High-quality literary fiction only.

When submitting your short story to The New Yorker, it’s important to keep in mind that they are looking for high-quality literary fiction. The magazine has a long-standing reputation for publishing some of the best works in the genre, so it’s essential to make sure your story meets their standards.

The New Yorker is known for its commitment to artistic excellence and pushing the boundaries of storytelling, so your submission should reflect that.

Stories under 5,000 words

The New Yorker has a strict word limit for short stories: they prefer submissions that are under 5,000 words. This allows them to publish a wide range of stories and gives readers the opportunity to enjoy a diverse selection of narratives.

Keeping your story concise and focused will increase your chances of getting it accepted by The New Yorker.

Unique storytelling and compelling themes

The New Yorker values unique storytelling and compelling themes. They are looking for stories that stand out from the crowd and offer a fresh perspective. Don’t be afraid to take risks with your writing and explore unconventional ideas.

The magazine is known for its thought-provoking content, so make sure your story leaves a lasting impression on the reader.

Polished drafts ready for publication

Before submitting your short story to The New Yorker, it’s crucial to ensure that your draft is polished and ready for publication. The magazine receives a high volume of submissions, and they are more likely to consider stories that require minimal editing.

Take the time to revise and edit your story before submitting it, and consider seeking feedback from fellow writers or a writing workshop to make sure it’s in top shape.

Follow The New Yorker’s Formatting Guidelines

Submit .doc or .rtf files.

When submitting your short story to The New Yorker, it is important to follow their formatting guidelines. The preferred file formats for submission are .doc or .rtf. These formats ensure that your story can be easily accessed and read by the editors.

Avoid submitting your story in formats that may cause compatibility issues, such as .pdf or .pages.

Single-spaced, 12 pt. font

The New Yorker requires that your short story be single-spaced with a 12 pt. font. This format makes it easier for the editors to read and evaluate your work. Keep in mind that using a smaller font or double-spacing may result in your story being rejected.

It is important to adhere to the specified font size and spacing to increase your chances of acceptance.

Italicize any words not in English

If your short story contains words or phrases in a language other than English, it is recommended to italicize them. This helps the editors understand that the words are not typos or errors, but intentional parts of your story.

Italicizing non-English words adds clarity and enhances the overall reading experience for the editors.

Include page numbers

When submitting your short story to The New Yorker, it is crucial to include page numbers. This helps the editors keep track of the order of the pages and ensures that your story is complete. Additionally, including page numbers shows that you have taken the time to carefully organize your work, which reflects positively on your professionalism as a writer.

Craft a Strong Cover Letter

Your cover letter is the first impression you make on the editors at The New Yorker, so it’s important to make it strong and compelling. Here are some key elements to include:

Summary of 2-3 sentences

Start your cover letter with a brief summary of your short story. Highlight the main theme, characters, and plot points in a concise and intriguing way. This will give the editors a clear idea of what your story is about and pique their interest to read further.

Relevant background about you

Provide a brief overview of your relevant writing experience or background. Mention any awards, writing workshops, or degrees that showcase your dedication and passion for writing. This will help establish your credibility as a writer and demonstrate your commitment to the craft.

How you found their submission info

Share how you came across The New Yorker’s submission guidelines. Whether you discovered it through their website, a writer’s forum, or a friend’s recommendation, mentioning this shows that you have done your research and are serious about submitting to them.

Previous publications (if any)

If you have been previously published, include a list of your most notable publications. This could be in literary magazines, anthologies, or online platforms. Highlighting your past successes can help build your credibility and show that your work has been recognized and appreciated by others.

Remember, the cover letter is your opportunity to make a strong first impression, so make sure it is well-written, concise, and professional.

For more information on crafting a cover letter for literary submissions, you can refer to Literary Hub’s guide on how to write a cover letter for a literary magazine submission. They provide valuable tips and insights that can help you create a standout cover letter.

Review Submission FAQs on Their Website

If you’re considering submitting your short story to The New Yorker, it’s important to familiarize yourself with their submission guidelines. One of the first things you should do is review the submission FAQs on their website.

These FAQs provide valuable information about the submission process and can answer many of the questions you may have.

Can’t submit multiple stories at once

One important thing to note is that The New Yorker only accepts one story at a time. So, if you have multiple stories that you’d like to submit, you’ll need to choose the best one and submit it separately. This allows the editors to give each story the attention it deserves.

No simultaneous submissions

The New Yorker does not accept simultaneous submissions, which means you should not submit your story to any other publications while it’s under consideration at The New Yorker. This is a common policy among many literary magazines and helps ensure that the publication has exclusive rights to the story if it’s accepted.

Only submit finished drafts

The New Yorker only accepts finished drafts of short stories. It’s important to spend time revising and polishing your story before submitting it. Make sure it’s the best possible version of your work before sending it in.

The New Yorker looks for well-crafted, compelling stories that showcase strong writing and unique perspectives.

Be prepared to wait several months

Submitting to The New Yorker requires patience. The review process can take several months, so be prepared to wait for a response. While waiting, it’s a good idea to continue working on other writing projects.

Remember, the publishing industry often moves slowly, and it’s not uncommon for response times to be longer than anticipated.

For more detailed information and answers to specific questions, be sure to visit The New Yorker website’s submission FAQs section. It’s a valuable resource that can help guide you through the submission process and increase your chances of success.

Submit via Email to Fiction Submissions Editor

If you dream of having your short story published in The New Yorker, the first step is to submit it to the Fiction Submissions Editor. Submitting your work via email is the preferred method, as it allows for easy communication and efficient processing of submissions.

Send to: [email protected]

To submit your short story, simply send it as an email attachment to [email protected] . Make sure to address it to the Fiction Submissions Editor, who will be responsible for reviewing your work.

Include cover letter in body of email

Along with your short story, it is important to include a cover letter in the body of your email. The cover letter should introduce yourself and briefly summarize your story. It is also a good idea to mention any relevant writing credentials or previous publications, if applicable.

Keep the cover letter concise and professional.

Attach Word doc of story file

When submitting your short story, it is recommended to attach a Word document of the story file. This ensures that the formatting and layout of your story remains intact. Avoid sending your story as a PDF or any other file format, as it may cause compatibility issues.

Add SUBMISSION in subject line

To ensure that your submission is properly categorized, it is important to add the word “SUBMISSION” in the subject line of your email. This helps the Fiction Submissions Editor quickly identify and sort through the incoming submissions.

Remember, submitting your short story to The New Yorker is a highly competitive process. It is essential to carefully follow the submission guidelines and present your work in the best possible light. Good luck!

With its distinctive prestige and massive readership, The New Yorker is many writers’ dream publication. Submitting your own short story requires carefully following their guidelines and presenting your best work in a professional manner. Understanding their selectivity and unique process will help you craft a submission that stands out. While publication is highly competitive, take your time polishing a compelling story and cover letter to give yourself the best shot at success.

This guide covers all the key details, from properly formatting your story file to emailing the fiction submissions editor. With a pristine draft, engaging narrative, and convincing cover letter, you’ll be primed for a solid submission to The New Yorker’s esteemed fiction section. Just be sure to thoroughly review their website first and follow all specifications to avoid easy mistakes.

Hi there, I'm Jessica, the solo traveler behind the travel blog Eye & Pen. I launched my site in 2020 to share over a decade of adventurous stories and vivid photography from my expeditions across 30+ countries. When I'm not wandering, you can find me freelance writing from my home base in Denver, hiking Colorado's peaks with my rescue pup Belle, or enjoying local craft beers with friends.

I specialize in budget tips, unique lodging spotlights, road trip routes, travel hacking guides, and female solo travel for publications like Travel+Leisure and Matador Network. Through my photography and writing, I hope to immerse readers in new cultures and compelling destinations not found in most guidebooks. I'd love for you to join me on my lifelong journey of visual storytelling!

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How to Submit to the New Yorker Magazine

Getting published in "The New Yorker" magazine and rubbing inky elbows with the likes of John Updike and Shirley Jackson is, for many writers, scaling a career peak. It's also notoriously difficult to achieve, particularly as "The New Yorker" has never published a masthead in its magazine, the page where most magazines list the contact information for its publishers, editors and writers. Difficult, however, is not the same as impossible, and with plenty of diligence, talent and hard work, you may have the pleasure of being the magazine's next breakout writer.

Understand the Readership

The first key to getting published in "The New Yorker" is having a firm grasp on what the magazine wants to print. There's no better way of doing this than by grabbing several recent issues and reading them from cover to cover. The magazine publishes short stories, poetry and regular commentary columns. It has also been known to publish long works of fiction over several issues, such as it did with Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood." Fiction editor Deborah Treisman denies the magazine has a particular taste in work, but bear in mind that its readership is intelligent, educated and sophisticated.

Don't Do That

"The New Yorker" receives an overwhelming number of submissions every month, and it has a stable of established authors who are published regularly. So, your competition is stiff. You owe it to yourself to send in your most professional, most polished work. Don't run it past spell check and call it good. Your grammar, spelling, clarity and proper use of tense must be flawless. Have a few literary friends proofread it for you. Don't look just for technical flaws; look for issues with plot, styling and so forth. Make sure your work is in the best shape possible before you send it in.

Inside the Box

"The New Yorker" accepts submissions through its online submission form. Visit the magazine's website and click on the "contact us" link. You'll be directed to the submission form, where you can upload fiction, newsbreaks, columns for "Shouts and Murmurs" and poetry. You can also mail up to six poems to the poetry editor, Paul Muldoon, at: The New Yorker, 4 Times Square, New York, New York 10036. You may also email him directly at [email protected]. Emailing fiction to [email protected] is also another avenue to take. The magazine does not accept unsolicited "Talk of the Town" articles or any other nonfiction pieces.

Outside the Box

In an interview, Treisman insisted the magazine does publish authors from its slush pile, but truthfully only named four from the previous several years. Getting noticed may mean doing more than using that submission form and then waiting on pins and needles for three months -- the typical response time, if you get one at all. "The New Yorker" is far more likely to look at submissions from authors who have agents because, as Treisman pointed out, agents have already done the grunt work: they've vetted the writing and deemed it good enough for publication. Having an agent also greatly speeds up the process for you, since you'll skip the slush pile altogether. Never forget, as well, the power of insider connections. Attend writing conferences and form contacts with editors and other writers. The more people who know you and who like you, the better off you are.

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Brooke Julia has been a writer since 2009. Her work has been featured in regional magazines, including "She" and "Hagerstown Magazine," as well as national magazines, including "Pregnancy & Newborn" and "Fit Pregnancy."

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Founded in 1925, the New Yorker is a prominent publication known for its iconic magazine covers and its news reportage, literary analysis, cultural essays, fiction, political commentary, satire, unique cartoons, and poetry.

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Piecing for Cover

By Ayelet Waldman

Mark Darrell’s life began to unravel on a Tuesday morning in September, 2004, in Anbar Province. A marine staff sergeant, a steady, seventeen-year veteran with only a week to go in his Iraq rotation, Darrell left a staff meeting at a headquarters building in a Fallujah combat outpost, chuckling about the ribbing he had given his friend Major Kevin Shea. Shea hated the Yankees; Darrell was a diehard fan. Then Darrell felt a blast of searing heat and a concussive thump at his back, and he was thrown to the ground. Ears ringing, he scrambled to his feet, turned, and saw a heap of rubble where headquarters had stood only moments before. An enemy rocket had landed a direct hit. Darrell ran toward the bomb site, arriving just in time to see Shea’s body pulled from the wreckage. “I was just frozen,” he told me. “I wanted to cry, but I couldn’t cry.”

Darrell rotated home, got through the final three years of his service commitment, and retired. He took a job in law enforcement at the Federal Reserve Bank in Atlanta. Working security felt like a natural next step after the military, but he found dealing with civilian life—“dealing with civilians, period”—to be challenging. At work, he struggled to hold back swells of aggression. At home with his wife and children, he contained those moods by drinking. Night after night, he would pace the house, drink until he blacked out, hide in a closet, and howl. He drank to “numb the pain, numb the guilt, numb some of the nightmares,” but flashbacks to that morning in Anbar Province continued, along with waves of survivor’s guilt. The harder he tried to suppress them, the worse they got.

Finally, his wife issued an ultimatum: no more drinking. Darrell didn’t wait to hear the “or else.” He quit cold turkey and entered therapy at the V.A. But the nightmares and the all but unbearable distress continued.

Then, in 2016, as Darrell and his wife were expecting their first grandson, he was seized by a desire to make something for the baby, something that would come not from a store but from his life, his hands. “I don’t know why it was,” he told me. “I thought about a quilt.”

Darrell had never sewn, knew no one who quilted. But, he said, “I ran to Walmart, and I grabbed fabric. I grabbed sewing needles. I brought it all home, and I set it all out on the table, and I was, like, ‘Oh, yeah, I need a machine.’ I go to a pawnshop, and I just grabbed one. I remember that machine. It was just a little Singer, baby-blue and white.”

That night, hunched over his kid’s sewing machine, Darrell’s focus narrowed and, for the first time since he left Fallujah, the pain eased. He recalled, “I wasn’t thinking about the war. I wasn’t thinking about what the marines were doing. I was just thinking about, How do I make this thing square? I had never used drugs, but I could imagine someone’s first experience with drugs, with everything just firing at the same time. That’s what quilting did to me.”

I know that feeling. I recognize the way time folds and warps, lost in the crisp snick of the rotary cutter slicing through fabric, the buzz of the sewing machine, the hiss of the steam iron. It began for me on October 7th, when Hamas attacked Israel . I spent that day refreshing my news feed, my distress growing ever more intense. My late father was a founder of Kibbutz Kissufim, one of the kibbutzim invaded and destroyed by Hamas militants; my older siblings were born there. I’ve been involved for years in the fight for Palestinian rights and in the Israeli peace movement, many of whose members lived or grew up in the Gaza envelope. In the course of that day, I heard of more and more people whose loved ones had been killed or taken hostage. My Israeli friends and family were anguished, reeling. My Palestinian friends were terrified of the vengeance they knew was coming.

For two days, I did nothing but sit on the couch and stare at my laptop, growing increasingly distraught at the atrocities committed by Hamas and at the prospect of an Israeli invasion . Then, on October 9th, I noticed a sewing machine and a roll of fabric on my dining table. We were spending the winter in Maine, and I’d bought the machine, the cheapest for sale online, thinking that my daughter and I might find some cozy indoor project to do together. I closed a video of mutilated bodies strewn across the site of the Nova music festival , found my way to a YouTube video featuring a cheerful middle-aged lady named Jenny Doan, and did my best to follow her instructions on how to make a split-bars quilt.

Like Darrell, I was a novice at quilting. My only experience with a sewing machine was a week in seventh grade doing battle with a swath of ugly plaid fabric, trying to wrestle it into a shape that in the end almost passed—if I squinted and used enough safety pins—for a wraparound skirt. But, from the moment I picked up a rotary cutter, quilting took over my life. As Israel’s siege of Gaza intensified, I quilted from morning, when I’d carry my cup of tea over to the sewing machine, until night, when I’d grudgingly switch it off and go to bed. I would stop for dinner only because my husband pleaded with me to, but while we ate I would glance again and again toward the sewing machine until he would finally say, with bemusement, “Just go.”

When I stitched, my brain stopped whirring. My urge to scroll through videos of the attack ebbed. It wasn’t that quilting distracted me from the massacre or from the ongoing catastrophe in Gaza . I still watched news reports. I listened to audio coverage. I wept. But my rage and despair came at intervals, not unremittingly. I was able to tolerate and to a certain degree control the surges of horror, outrage, and fear—not to suppress them but, rather, to ride them like a surfer rides a swell.

Like so many women before me, I took over my son’s bedroom and turned it into a sewing room, complete with a better-quality sewing machine, a cutting table, an ironing station, and bins of fabric and notions, the delightful word for small sewing essentials and tools. I quilt every day, generally for at least four hours and often as long as eight, using it as a reward for finishing work and chores and as succor when I feel a wave of anxiety or distress. Walking into my sewing room brings me an immediate sense of ease, like slipping between the sheets of a freshly made bed.

Darrell and I are not alone in having turned to quilting in times of crisis. Quilters I’ve spoken to have come to the craft in the wake of the deaths of children, spouses, and parents; painful divorces from abusive husbands; childhood sexual abuse; psychotic breaks; brain-tumor diagnoses; and, like me, in response to the intolerable state of the world. Attempting to explain it, they all tend to say versions of the same thing: “I just had to sew,” or “I was going to start screaming out loud if I didn’t pick up a needle and thread.”

I reached out to Jenny Doan, the chipper online quilting instructor who started me on my own “quilting journey,” not understanding that to most quilters having a one-on-one Zoom call with Doan is like getting your nails done with Oprah. She is revered by legions of devoted fans, who inundate her with mail and mob her at events, testifying about having found her videos in moments of despair. “And here I thought I was teaching people how to sew,” she told me, laughing.

Doan herself began her professional quilting career at a time of crisis. Her husband, a hardworking machinist, earned enough to support their family of nine and save for retirement. But then came the 2008 financial crisis . His 401(k) was wiped out. They were, Doan laughed again (she is always laughing, except when she’s moved to tears), looking to avoid moving into their adult son’s basement. Her children pitched in and bought her a long-arm quilting machine, a huge, computerized unit that would allow her to finish other quilters’ projects for a fee, and—her kids hoped—keep a roof over their heads. Within a few years, Doan’s business, the Missouri Star Quilt Company, was the largest quilting-supply outfit in the U.S., worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Missouri Star owns seventeen buildings on the main street of Hamilton, Missouri, and employs three hundred of the seventeen hundred people who live there. She has done for a dying small town what she has done for so many of us: stitched it back together.

There is a person whose story stands out amid the many who credit Doan with saving them. One day she received a letter from a woman in Iran, asking for advice about how to teach the women in her village how to quilt. Doan recounts, “She ended her letter to me by saying, ‘You have filled my war-torn life with color.’ ” By now, Doan and I are both in tears.

Darrell says, of quilting, “Welcome to trauma treatment. Because it’s such a great tool for self-healing.” Why is this so? The answer, I’ve learned, is in large part neurological. Though we tend to describe the experiences of fear, anxiety, anger, and sadness as exclusively of the mind, they are intricately connected to the body, even in someone like me, who is so focussed on my thoughts and feelings that I might as well be a head floating in space. In the nineteen-thirties, Hans Selye, an Austrian-Canadian physician, identified the biological mechanism by which our bodies respond to stress. When we perceive danger, our hypothalamus triggers our adrenal glands to release stress hormones—a process that incites a cascade of physical reactions. Our hearts, for example, beat faster in anticipation of the blood flow we might need to respond to a physical threat. This is crucial if you’re about to be eaten by a sabre-toothed tiger, but, when you’re having a nightmare about your buddy’s death or sitting on your couch watching videos of bombs dropping five thousand miles away, it harms rather than helps.

In order to feel better, we must somehow get ourselves into a less reactive state. We try to do this in a myriad of ways, some more effective than others. Some, like Darrell, try to numb their pain with alcohol. Others tune out the world and play video games for hours. Others run until they pass out from exhaustion. And many of us, it turns out, quilt.

Quilting is a craft that requires the use of the brain and the body, that involves the senses of sight, touch, sound, and smell, that requires mathematical calculation, forward planning, and rapt attention. It begins with a pattern, or, in the case of what’s known as improv quilting, an idea, an emotion, or even just a whim. (“Today, I’m in the mood to make circles!”) Then there’s the fabric. You choose it not only by color but also by how it feels in your hand. For this pattern or idea should the fabric be slick, or should it be nubbly? Do I want to see and feel the warp and weft or am I going for a sleeker effect? Even the smell of the fabric comes into play: it has a mellow, warm aroma, especially under a hot iron.

Cutting up the fabric demands concentration. Measurements must be precise, and cuts clean. Each scrap of fabric—and there are usually hundreds of them—must then be ironed, matched, and pinned. Only then does a quilter sit down at the sewing machine. You sew two pieces together in a small block, and then small blocks together in larger blocks, each time returning to the iron to smooth the block and to the cutting table to trim it—piece after piece, block after block, for hour after hour, in an immersive and repetitive flow.

I was curious if something about these specific activities and sensory experiences might be particularly effective at soothing intense emotion. Absolutely, a number of experts in neuroscientists told me. Susan Magsamen, the founder and executive director of the International Arts + Mind Lab ( IAM Lab), Center for Applied Neuroaesthetics, at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, explained that handwork has a stabilizing effect on the mind, which begins with the extraordinarily high density of nerve endings in our fingertips. Using our hands stimulates these neurons, triggering an immediate response in the brain—bathing it in oxytocin, dopamine, and serotonin, the hormones associated with pleasure.

Furthermore, each of our hands is controlled by the opposite brain hemisphere. Using both hands stimulates both hemispheres at once, and can also stimulate them alternately, as you shift from left to right. This kind of alternating bilateral stimulation is thought to be the basis for eye-movement-desensitization therapy, one of the more effective treatments for P.T.S.D. According to Daniel Levitin, a cognitive psychologist and neuroscientist and the author of the best-selling “ This Is Your Brain on Music ,” such activity also “strengthens connections between the hemispheres, facilitating creativity and the transfer of information over the long term, and helps to build up cognitive reserve.”

Quilting involves bilateral activity in other ways, as well. The parts of quilting that require intense focus, like cutting and matching seams, are controlled by something known as the central executive network, which is distributed in both hemispheres. I like to imagine it as a little gray-suited office drone, organizing all the cognitive tasks that require my close attention. Then, when I sit down at the sewing machine and start repetitively, all but robotically, piecing together cuts of fabric, he takes his coffee break. That’s when the default-mode network takes over. The default-mode network, which is also bilateral, is a brain system that is active when we are in a state of “wakeful rest”—when our minds wander. This state is profoundly restorative. Levitin told me that the default-mode network “effectively presses the Reset button in your brain.”

David J. Linden, a neuroscientist at Johns Hopkins University, described other ways in which handwork like quilting might help with mood. Self-directed creative activities that involve planning give a deep sense of agency and reward, which reduces anxiety and is correlated with well-being. And activities in which we can track our progress make us feel even better as we pursue them than ones in which all the rewards are deferred into the future. Linden compares the satisfaction of incremental progress to smoking cigarettes—the reward is instantaneous. And completing future-focussed activities, Linden said, is like doing heroin. The rewards are palpable, and they continue beyond the moment. When I joke that I have developed a “quilting addiction,” I might not be far off the mark.

All these neurological systems may explain why so many of us responded to the fear and constraints of the pandemic by becoming experts in sourdough fermentation, woodworking, or knitting. For a short while, I took up embroidery, which I enjoyed and found a certain comfort in, though I did not slip into the single-minded obsession that I have with quilting. We thought that we were all becoming hobbyists because we were stuck in our houses, climbing the walls. While this is true, it’s also likely that, faced with severe disruptions and fears of death, we were reaching instinctively for activities that made use of our hands, provided an achievable sense of mastery and control, and resulted in immediate rewards.

Quilting gives me a further source of delight: the pleasure of being part of a community, both virtually and in real life. Within half an hour of my house there are three quilting stores, all of them staffed by kindly women eager to provide advice, support, and praise. Such stores often have open quilting days, when people bring their sewing machines, rotary cutters, and irons and sit together sewing and gossiping, like women have done from time immemorial. I joined the renowned East Bay Heritage Quilters, one of at least four hundred quilting guilds in the U.S., which hosts virtual events, classes, and bimonthly open quilting gatherings at a local church. I have participated in online sewing circles, sitting with a group of people (mostly older women) hand-stitching a binding onto a quilt, and exclaiming over someone’s work in progress.

Piecing together a quilt for a practical use—for warmth rather than display—is called piecing for cover. It is an eloquent metaphor for the solace that quilting gives. There is no end of this wretched war in sight, and there is an election looming . If things go badly in November, I’ll probably want to quilt a shroud large enough to wrap half the country. I recently finished a quilt for a Palestinian peace activist whose resiliency and eloquence have allowed me hope amid all this turmoil and despair. I don’t delude myself that this gift will comfort her, but I comfort myself by imagining that I am piecing us together, wrapping and warming us both. ♦

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80 Best Magazines & Websites That Publish Personal Essays

Wouldn’t it be great to find a whole list of magazines that publish personal essays, and even pay you for the privilege?

Well, you’re in luck because you’ve just found a list of magazines that accept essay submissions around pop culture, personal finance, personal stories, and many other topics. If you’re passionate about crafting personal essays and your work typically falls within a range of 600 to 10,000 words, consider submitting your essays to the organizations listed below. They generally offer compensation of $50-$250 for each accepted essay. After this guide, you may also want to check my list of the best essays of all time .

Here are the top magazines and publications that publish thought-provoking essays:

1. the new york times – modern love.

“Modern Love” accepts essay submissions via email at [email protected] with the essay subject or potential title as the email subject line. Submissions should be original, true stories between 1,500 and 1,700 words, sent both as an attached Microsoft Word-compatible document and pasted into the body of the email. The team collaborates with writers on editing, and authors are compensated for published work. Submission info .

2. The New York Times – Opinion Essays

To submit an essay to this publication, fill out the provided submission form with the essay and a brief explanation of your professional or personal connection to its argument or idea. The essay should include sources for key assertions (either as hyperlinks or parenthetical citations). Although all submissions are reviewed, the publication may not be able to respond individually due to the high volume of entries. If there’s no response within three business days, authors are free to submit their work elsewhere. Submission info .

3. Dame Magazine

DAME is a women’s magazine that prioritizes accessible and intersectional journalism that dives into context rather than breaking news. Their stories are unexpected, emotional, straightforward, illuminating, and focused on people rather than policy. They aim to reveal new or surprising information, provoke action or empathy, simplify complex issues, introduce fresh ideas, and foreground the people most affected by discussed topics. Submission info .

4. The New Yorker

The New Yorker welcomes letters to the editor sent to [email protected] and includes your postal address and phone number. For fiction submissions, send your work as a PDF to [email protected] or mail it to their New York address. They review all submissions within ninety days and will only contact you if they decide to publish your work. Submission info .

5. The Atlantic

The Atlantic is keen on high-quality nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. Familiarity with their past publications can guide your submission. All manuscripts should be submitted as a Word document or PDF. They only respond if they’re interested in discussing your submission further. Separate submission channels exist for fiction and poetry. Submission info .

6. The Globe and Mail

The Globe and Mail welcomes your original experiences, viewpoints, and unique perspectives for your daily first-person essay. A good essay should have an original voice, an unexpected view, humor, vivid details, and anecdotes that illuminate a wider theme. While a successful essay could be funny, surprising, touching, or enlightening, it should always be personal and truthful, rather than political or fictional. Submission info .

7. The Guardian

To contribute to this publication, you should identify the most relevant section and contact the commissioning editor with a brief outline of your idea. You may be invited to submit your work speculatively, meaning payment will only be provided if your contribution is published. It’s important to note that your contribution should be sent electronically and will be published under standard copyright terms with payment at normal rates unless agreed otherwise before publication. Submission info .

8. Los Angeles Times

The Los Angeles Times is open to opinion articles on any subject, with most published pieces being about 750 words long. Submissions must be exclusive to them and not published elsewhere, including personal blogs or social media. Full drafts of articles are required for consideration and should include the author’s name, the topic, the full text, a short author biography, and contact information. Submission info .

9. The Sun Magazine

The Sun publishes personal essays, short stories, and poems from both established and emerging writers globally, particularly encouraging submissions from underrepresented perspectives. Their contributors’ work often garners recognition in prestigious anthologies and prizes. The Sun seeks personal essays that are deeply reflective, celebrating hard-won victories or exploring big mistakes, aiming to make newsworthy events feel intimate and wrestle with complex questions. Submission info .

Slate invites pitches that are fresh, and original, and propose strong arguments. They appreciate ideas that challenge conventional wisdom and encourage you to clearly articulate the insights your reporting can uncover. A concise pitch is preferred, even if a full draft is already written. You should include a short bio and any relevant published work. They advise waiting a week before pitching to other publications, and if an editor passes, refrain from sending it to another editor at Slate. Submission info .

VICE is primarily interested in mid-length original reports, reported essays, narrative features, and service journalism related to contemporary living and interpersonal relationships. They welcome stories informed by personal experiences and insight but advise writers to consider what makes their story unique, why they’re the right person to tell it, and why it should be on VICE. While all stories don’t need to be tied to current events, a timely element can distinguish a pitch. They also accept quick-turnaround blogs and longer features. Submission info .

12. Vox Culture

Vox Culture seeks to provide readers with context and analysis for understanding current entertainment trends. They are interested in pitches that answer significant questions about major movies, TV shows, music artists, internet culture, fame, and women’s issues in the entertainment business. Notably, they are not interested in personal essays or celebrity interviews. Past successful stories have ranged from exploring Disney’s move away from traditional villains to analyzing historical inaccuracies in popular shows. They accept story pitches ranging between 1,000 and 2,500 words. Submission info .

Aeon, a unique digital magazine since 2012, is known for publishing profound and provocative ideas addressing big questions. Their signature format is the Essay, a deep dive into a topic, usually between 2,500-5,000 words, approached from a unique angle and written with clarity to engage curious and intelligent general readers. Aeon’s contributors are primarily academic experts, but they also welcome those with significant professional or practical expertise in various fields. Submission info .

14. BuzzFeed Reader

This platform welcomes freelance pitches on cultural criticism, focusing on current or timeless topics in various categories like books, technology, sports, etc. Essays should offer a unique perspective on how these subjects reflect our society. The content must be relevant, advance ongoing dialogues, and add value to the existing discourse. Submission info .

15. The Boston Globe

Boston Globe Ideas welcomes a variety of content including op-eds, reported stories, book excerpts, first-person essays, and Q&A features. Submissions should be sent directly, not as pitches. Please include your submission in the body of the email, not as an attachment. Briefly explain why you’re uniquely qualified to write this piece. Ensure your submission hasn’t been published or under review elsewhere. Submissions page .

16. The Bold Italic

This platform is actively seeking submissions in the genre of personal narrative essays. These pieces can encompass a broad range of experiences from the hilariously light-hearted to deeply poignant, encapsulating the vibrant and diverse experiences of living in your community. Submission info .

Before pitching to a Medium Publication, thoroughly understand its unique style by reviewing published content and submission guidelines. This ensures your work aligns with their preferences. With numerous Medium Publications available, persist in your submissions until you find a fitting outlet. Submission info .

18. Refinery29

Refinery29 Australia is committed to empowering women and underrepresented groups, with a particular focus on Australian women and trans and gender-diverse individuals, primarily Gen-Z and millennials. We publish a diverse array of content, from timely personal essays to reports on race, reproductive rights, and pop culture, all with a distinctly local perspective. They aim to shed light on the world around us, and highly value pieces that capture the unique Australian experience, be it in subject matter or authorial voice. Submission info .

ELLE’s annual talent competition is back for, seeking out the next superstar in writing. The winner will have their 500-word piece, inspired by the hashtag #RelationshipGoals and focusing on a significant relationship in their life. Submission info .

20. Cosmopolitan

Cosmopolitan is looking for first-person features that cover all aspects of beauty. This can include writing personal essays or narratives about your struggles with adult acne, your journey to an all-natural beauty routine, or other unique beauty experiences. We are also open to opinion pieces about beauty trends or movements that resonate with you. Submission info .

Bustle encourages freelance pitches across different verticals such as Lifestyle, Books, News and politics, Fashion and beauty, and Entertainment. We value pitches that are brief yet comprehensive, including a sample headline, a 2-3 sentence description of the piece, your plan for photos, sources you have access to, your clips if you haven’t written for us before, and your standard rate. Make sure to understand what we’re looking for and convey your story idea clearly and professionally. Submission info .

22. The Walrus

The Walrus seeks short essays (up to 1,200 words) that are timely, focused, and sourced from Canada and globally. These can be reported narratives, memoirs, or mini-features on specific topics. Each essay should exhibit a distinct argument, a strong writing voice, and present an original and significant viewpoint. Writers new to The Walrus or those without long-form journalism experience are particularly encouraged to contribute to this section. Submission info .

23. Autostraddle

Autostraddle welcomes pitches, works in progress, and completed submissions. Any issues with the submission form should be emailed to Laneia Jones with the subject line “SUBMISSION ERROR”. Questions about the submission process can be directed to Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya with “SUBMISSION PROCESS” in the subject line. Please note that pitches or submissions sent via email will not be accepted. Submission info .

24. Narratively

Narratively focuses on original and untold human stories, welcoming pitches and completed submissions from diverse voices. They use Submittable for managing submissions. To better understand what they’re looking for in new writers, contributors can review their guidelines, and the best pitches they’ve received, and ask questions to their editors about how to pitch. Submission info .

25. Catapult

Catapult offers a regularly updated list of submission and freelancing opportunities. Some current options include Black Fox Literary Magazine, open for fiction submissions; Carina Press, seeking romance manuscripts; Elegant Literature, welcoming submissions for its contest; Inkspell Publishing, looking for romance manuscripts; Interlude Press, seeking original novels featuring diverse casts; and Intrepid Times, accepting stories about romance while traveling. Submission info .

26. Jezebel

At Jezebel, the high volume of daily emails (over 500), including tips and questions from readers, makes it impossible to respond to all of them, even though they are all read and appreciated. Their primary job involves posting 60+ items a day, and due to workload constraints, they may not always be able to reply to your email. Submission info .

27. Bitch Media

Bitch Media seeks pitches offering feminist analysis of culture, covering a wide array of topics including social trends, politics, science, health, life aspects, and popular culture phenomena. They publish critical essays, reported features, interviews, reviews, and analyses. First-person essays should balance personal perspectives with larger themes. Both finished work and query letters are welcome. However, due to the volume of submissions, they cannot guarantee a response or that every pitch will be read. Submission info .

28. Broadview

Broadview magazine prefers pitches from professional writers for unique, audience-focused stories. While unsolicited articles may be accepted, the initial idea pitch is recommended. Responses to each pitch are not guaranteed due to high submission volumes. Submission info .

29. Briarpatch Magazine

Briarpatch Magazine accepts pitches on a variety of political and social issues, valuing stories from diverse voices. They seek well-researched, fact-backed pieces aimed at a non-specialist, progressive audience. They recommend writers to first pitch their ideas, including contact info, estimated word count, recent publications, and a short writing sample. The magazine aims to respond within one to two weeks after the pitch deadline for each issue. Submission info .

30. Maisonneuve

Maisonneuve Magazine welcomes non-fiction writing submissions in various forms (reporting, essays, memoirs, humor, reviews) and visual art (illustration, photography, comics). They do not accept fiction, poetry, or previously published work. They prefer well-developed, well-researched pitches, but also accept polished drafts if the writer is open to edits. To understand what the magazine is looking for, it’s recommended to read some recent issues or check their website. Submission info .

31. Room Magazine

Room Magazine seeks original fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, and art from individuals of marginalized genders, including women (cisgender and transgender), transgender men, Two-Spirit, and nonbinary people. Simultaneous submissions are welcome, and submissions can be made through Submittable. Submission info .

32. Hazlitt

Hazlitt is currently not accepting submissions but it might reopen soon. They seek original journalism, investigative features, international reporting, profiles, essays, and humor pieces, but they are not considering unsolicited fiction. Pitches with proposed word counts are preferred, and they have a section called “Hazlitt Firsts” for reviews of experiencing mundane things for the first time as adults. Submission info .

33. This Magazine

This Magazine seeks pitches for their annual Culture Issue with a DIY theme, open to various topics related to DIY spirit. They publish Canadian residents only and prefer queries over already completed essays or manuscripts. They look for unique stories with a social justice angle, and pitches should include reasons for telling the story, relevant sources, and potential takeaways for readers. Submission info .

34. Geist Magazine

Geist magazine seeks submissions with a literary focus, including short non-fiction for the Notes & Dispatches section (around 800-1200 words) with a sense of place, historical narrative, humor, and personal essays on art, music, and culture. They encourage submissions from diverse writers and will pay writers $300-500 for accepted pieces. Submission info .

35. Discover Magazine

Discover magazine seeks pitches from freelance writers for science-related stories that enlighten and excite readers, with a conversational tone and high reader interest. Pitch one idea per email, mentioning the newness of the science and specific studies and researchers to be cited. Include your science-writing credentials and best clips in the pitch and send them to [email protected]. Payment starts at $1/word for print and typically $300/story for web, with rights purchased for both. Submission info .

36. Eater Voices

Eater Voices accepts personal essays from chefs, restaurateurs, writers, and industry insiders about the food world. To pitch, email a brief explanation of the topic and why you are the right person to write about it to [email protected]. Submission info .

37. The Temper

The Temper is an online publication focused on sobriety, addiction, and recovery, challenging drinking culture. They seek diverse and intersectional stories written through the lens of addiction, covering various topics like sex, food, relationships, and more. Submissions are currently closed, but they are especially interested in amplifying voices from marginalized and underrepresented groups. Submission info .

38. Chatelaine

Chatelaine is a prominent Canadian women’s magazine covering health, current events, food, social issues, decor, fashion, and beauty. To pitch, read the magazine first, and submit a one-page query letter explaining the idea’s fit for the magazine, section, and format. They prefer email submissions with at least two previously published writing samples, and response time may take six to eight weeks. Submission info .

39. Conde Nast Traveler

Condé Nast Traveler seeks pitches for reported and personal travel stories with inclusive coverage, including BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and disabled communities. Focus on stories and angles rather than destinations, check for previous coverage, and offer a fresh perspective. If pitching a personality, indicate exclusivity and access. Consider your expertise in telling stories, especially about marginalized communities, and disclose any sponsorships. Keep pitches brief, including a suggested headline, angle, sources, and why it’s timely. Responsible travel stories are prioritized during the pandemic. Submission info .

40. Boston Globe Ideas

Globe Ideas is dedicating an entire issue to young people’s voices and stories. Teens are invited to share their aspirations, concerns, and experiences about mental health, school, social media, and more, up to 700 words or through short notes, videos, or illustrations. This is a chance for teens to set the record straight and tell the world what matters most to them. Submission info .

41. Babbel Magazine

Babel welcomes submissions from all linguists, focusing on accessible and stimulating articles about language. Writers can submit feature articles or propose ideas for regular features, and guidelines for contributions are available for download. For those with ideas but not interested in writing, they can also suggest topics for articles through email. Submission info .

42. HuffPost Personal

HuffPost seeks to amplify voices from underrepresented communities, including BIPOC, LGBTQ, and people with disabilities. They accept freelance pitches on a wide range of topics, providing clear guidelines for submissions. They also encourage visual creatives to submit their work, and all published contributors are paid for their work. Please note that due to the volume of submissions, individual responses may not be possible. Submission info .

43. Adelaide Literary Magazine

Adelaide magazine accepts submissions in various categories, including fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, translations, book reviews, interviews, and art/photography. Fiction and nonfiction submissions have a size limit of 5,000 words, while book reviews have a limit of 2,000 words. They do not accept previously published work or simultaneous submissions. Artists retain all rights to their work, and upon publication, rights revert to the author/artist. Submission info .

44. bioStories

BioStories welcomes nonfiction prose submissions of 500 to 7500 words, with the typical piece being around 2500 words. Submit via email to [email protected], pasting the submission in the email body with the subject line “biostories submission” and your last name. Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but immediate notification is required if accepted elsewhere. Multiple submissions are allowed at a one-month interval, and the work must be previously unpublished in print and online. Noncompliant submissions will not receive a response. Submission info .

45. Quarter After Eight

Quarter After Eight welcomes innovative writing submissions in any genre from both new and established writers. To withdraw work, use the “withdraw” option on Submittable for the entire submission or the “note” function to specify which pieces to withdraw; do not email about withdrawals. Submission info .

46. The Rappahannock Review

The Rappahannock Review accepts original and innovative writing in various genres, including fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and audio pieces. They encourage experimentation and creativity, seeking enthralling voices and compelling narratives. Additionally, the magazine showcases a variety of visual artists and welcomes submissions for consideration in each new issue. Submission info .

Allure is seeking writers to contribute pieces that explore beauty, style, self-expression, and liberation. They are looking for writers with relevant credentials and experience in the field, and they offer compensation of $350 for reported stories and $300 for personal essays. Submission info .

48. MLA Style Center

The Modern Language Association is inviting students to submit research papers written in MLA style for consideration in their online collection “Writing with MLA Style.” Essays should be 2,000 to 3,000 words in length and must be written in English. Works-cited-list entries do not count toward the word limit. Submission info .

49. Marie Claire

Marie Claire magazine is dedicated to highlighting the diversity and depth of women’s experiences. They offer award-winning features, essays, and op-eds, as well as coverage of sustainable fashion, celebrity news, fashion trends, and beauty recommendations. Submission info .

SELF magazine is actively seeking new writers, particularly from marginalized communities, to contribute to their health and wellness content. They are interested in pitches that offer helpful insights on topics related to health, fitness, food, beauty, love, and lifestyle. The focus should be on improving personal or public health clearly and straightforwardly. Submission info .

51. Her Story

HerStry is a platform that focuses on the experiences of women-identifying persons, including cisgender women, transgender women, non-binary persons, and more. They accept personal essays that are true stories about the author, with a length between 500 to 3,000 words. They pay $10 for each published personal essay here, but there is a $3 submission fee (with limited free submission periods). Stories are read blind, and explicit or offensive content is not accepted. Submission info .

52. Griffith Review

Griffith Review accepts submissions based on specific themes for each edition. They welcome new and creative ideas, allowing writers to express their voices in essays, creative and narrative nonfiction-fiction, and analytical pieces. Submissions should generally range from 2,000 to 5,000 words, with up to four poems allowed on theme. Submission info .

53. Literary Review of Canada

The Literary Review of Canada welcomes prospective writers, photographers, and illustrators to submit specific review proposals, essay pitches, or general queries. They prefer to receive unsolicited review topics and essay ideas rather than completed work and do not accept simultaneous submissions. Submission info .

54. Harper’s Magazine

For Harper’s Magazine, nonfiction writers should send queries accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Ideas for the Readings section can be sent to [email protected], but individual acknowledgment is not guaranteed due to volume. All submissions and queries must be sent by mail to their New York address. Submission info .

55. Virginia Quarterly Review

VQR only considers unpublished work, submitted online via Submittable. One prose piece and four poems are allowed per reading period, but multiple submissions in the same genre will be declined unread. Simultaneous submissions are permitted, but if accepted elsewhere, notify them immediately via Submittable. Submission info .

56. The New England Review

New England Review is open for submissions in all genres during specific periods. They accept fiction, poetry, nonfiction, dramatic writing, and translations. The magazine only considers previously unpublished work, and simultaneous submissions are allowed. They welcome submissions from writers of all backgrounds and encourage diverse perspectives. Submission info .

57. One Story

One Story seeks literary fiction between 3,000 and 8,000 words, any style, and subject. They pay $500 and provide 25 contributor copies for First Serial North American rights. Only unpublished material is accepted, except for stories published in print outside North America. Simultaneous submissions allowed; prompt withdrawals upon acceptance elsewhere. Accepts DOC, DOCX, PDF, and RTF files via Submittable. No comments on individual stories. No revisions of previously rejected work. Translations are accepted with proper attribution. No emailed or paper submissions, except for incarcerated individuals. Submission info .

58. The Threepenny Review

The Threepenny Review accepts submissions for fiction, poetry, travel essays, and Table Talk pieces. They pay $400 per story/article and $200 per poem, granting first serial rights and copyright reversion to the author. Mailed manuscripts require a self-addressed stamped envelope, while online submissions should be in Word format with a single document for prose or poetry. Submission info .

59. Zoetrope: All-Story

Zoetrope: All-Story is currently not accepting general submissions. They will announce when submissions reopen and update the guidelines accordingly. Submission info .

60. American Short Fiction

American Short Fiction accepts regular submissions of short fiction from September to December. The magazine publishes both established and new authors , and submissions must be original and previously unpublished. Manuscripts should be typed, double-spaced, and accompanied by the author’s contact information. Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but authors must withdraw their work if accepted elsewhere. Payment is competitive and upon publication, with all rights reverting to the author. American Short Fiction does not accept poetry, plays, nonfiction, or reviews. Submission info .

61. The Southern Review

The Southern Review accepts work during its submission period. They only consider unpublished pieces in English and accept simultaneous submissions. If your work is accepted elsewhere, promptly notify them via email with the subject line “withdrawal.” Do not submit work via email, as it will be discarded. They do not consider submissions from anyone currently or recently affiliated with Louisiana State University within the past four years. It is recommended to familiarize yourself with the journal’s aesthetic by subscribing before submitting your work. Submission info .

62. Boulevard Magazine

Boulevard seeks to publish exceptional fiction, poetry, and non-fiction from both experienced and emerging writers. They accept works of up to 8,000 words for prose and up to five poems of up to 200 lines. They do not consider genres like science fiction, erotica, horror, romance, or children’s stories. Payment for prose ranges from $100 to $300, while payment for poetry ranges from $50 to $250. Natural Bridge Online publication offers a flat rate of $50. Submission info .

63. The Cincinnati Review

The Cincinnati Review accepts submissions for its print journal during specific periods: September, December, and May. miCRo submissions are open almost year-round, except during the Robert and Adele Schiff Awards and backlogs. They welcome submissions from writers at any stage, except current/former University of Cincinnati affiliates. Simultaneous submissions are allowed, and response time is around six months. Payment is $25/page for prose, $30/page for poetry in print, and $25 for miCRo posts/features. Submission info .

64. The Antioch Review

The Antioch Review seeks nonfiction essays that appeal to educated citizens, covering various social science and humanities topics of current importance. They aim for interpretive essays that draw on scholarly materials and revive literary journalism. The best way to understand their preferences is to read previous issues and get a sense of their treatment, lengths, and subjects used in the publication. Submission info .

AGNI’s online Submission Manager is open from September 1st to midnight December 15th, and again from February 15th to midnight May 31st. Manuscripts can also be submitted by mail between September 1st and May 31st. AGNI considers prose in various genres, including personal essays, short stories, prose poems, and more. They do not publish academic essays or genre romance, horror, mystery, or science fiction. Simultaneous submissions are welcome, and sending through the online portal incurs a $3 fee, but regular mail submissions can be made to avoid the fee. Submission info .

66. Barrelhouse

Barrelhouse accepts unsolicited submissions for book reviews through their Submittable online submissions manager. They pay $50 to each contributor and accept simultaneous submissions. There is no maximum length, but most published pieces are shorter than 8,000 words. They only accept Word or rich-text (.rtf) files and prefer poetry to be submitted as a single document. Submissions for their print and online issues are currently closed, but book reviews are open. Response time is approximately six months. Submission info .

67. Tin House Online

Tin House is a good company that offers a two-day submission period three times a year for writers without a current agent and no previous book publication (chapbooks accepted). They accept fiction, literary nonfiction, and poetry, both in English and in translation (with formal permission). Completed drafts are required. They are particularly interested in engaging with writers from historically underrepresented communities. Submission info .

68. One Teen Story

One Teen Story publishes 3 stories annually and welcomes submissions from teen writers aged 13-19. They seek original, unpublished fiction across genres, focusing on the teen experience. Great short stories with compelling teen characters, strong writing, and a well-structured narrative are encouraged for submission to their contest. Submission info .

69. Bennington Review

Bennington Review accepts unsolicited submissions through Submittable during their reading periods in fall, winter, and spring. They seek innovative and impactful fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, film writing, and cross-genre work. Response times vary, but they aim to respond within five to eight months. Accepted contributors will receive payment ranging from $25 per poem to $250 for prose over six typeset pages, along with two copies of the published issue and a copy of the subsequent issue. Submission info .

70. Epoch Literary

Epoch Literary accepts poetry submissions of up to five poems, short fiction or essay submissions as a single piece or a suite of smaller pieces, and visual art and comics for the cover. They do not publish literary criticism or writing for children and young adults. Electronic submissions are open in August and January, with a $3 fee, part of which supports the Cornell Prison Education Program. Submission info .

71. The Gettysburg Review

The Gettysburg Review accepts poetry, fiction, essays, and essay reviews from September 1 to May 31, with a focus on quality writing. Full-color graphics submissions are accepted year-round. It’s recommended to read previous issues before submitting, and sample copies are available for purchase. The journal stays open during the summer for mailed submissions or those using Submittable and purchasing a subscription or the current issue. Submission info .

72. Alaska Quarterly Review

The publication accepts submissions of fiction, poetry, drama, literary nonfiction, and photo essays in traditional and experimental styles. Fiction can be short stories, novellas, or novel excerpts up to 70 pages, and poetry submissions can include up to 6 poems. They aim to respond within 4 to 12 weeks, but authors can inquire about their manuscript status after 4 weeks if needed. Submission info .

73. Colorado Review

Colorado Review only accepts submissions through its Submittable portal and no longer accepts paper submissions. They encourage writers to be familiar with their publication before submitting and provide sample copies and examples of recently published work on their website. They look for engaging stories with original characters, crisp language , and a provocative central problem or issue. Submission info .

74. The Georgia Review

The Georgia Review accepts submissions both online and by post, but not via email. Submissions are free for current subscribers. They do not consider unsolicited manuscripts between May 15 and August 15 and aim to respond within eight months. Previously published work will not be considered, and simultaneous submissions are allowed if noted in the cover letter. They offer different prizes for poetry and prose and accept submissions in fiction, poetry, essays, and book reviews. Submission info .

75. New Letters

New Letters accepts submissions year-round through Submittable, with a small fee waived for current subscribers. They welcome up to six poems, one chapbook, one piece of nonfiction, one short story (graphic or traditional), or one novella per submission. Simultaneous submissions are allowed if notified, and response time is approximately six months. They publish short stories up to 5,000 words, novellas up to 30,000 words, graphic short stories up to ten pages in color or black and white, and chapbooks up to 30 pages. Submission info .

76. Shenandoah

Submissions for comics will reopen soon. The Graybeal-Gowen Prize for Virginia Poets will be open for a limited time. Poetry submissions are considered in November and spring. Prose submissions will open soon. Short stories, creative nonfiction, and flash fiction are welcome. Editor Beth Staples looks for writing that challenges and offers diverse perspectives. Submission info .

77. TriQuarterly

TriQuarterly, the literary journal of Northwestern University, welcomes submissions in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, video essays, short drama, and hybrid work from both established and emerging writers. They are especially interested in work that engages with global cultural and societal conversations. Submissions are accepted through Submittable, and they charge a small reading fee. Submission windows vary by genre. Submission info .

78. E-International Relations

E-International Relations invites current and former undergraduate and Master’s students to submit their highest-graded essays and dissertations for publication. They seek work that is of academic utility to other students and demonstrates engagement with the subject, using pertinent case studies/examples and engaging with complex literature and ideas. Submissions must meet specific entry criteria, including word count, language standards, and full bibliographic references. Submission info .

79. Longreads

Longreads publishes the best long-form nonfiction storytelling and accepts pitches for original work. They pay competitive rates and prefer pitches via email to [email protected]. Fiction is not accepted, and submissions using generative AI tools will be rejected. You can also nominate published stories by tweeting with the #longreads hashtag. Submission info .

80. Education Week

EdWeek welcomes submissions from various perspectives within the K-12 education community, including teachers, students, administrators, policymakers, and parents. Submissions should be concise, relevant to a national audience, and have a clear point of view backed by factual evidence. We value solution-oriented and practical pieces that offer best practices, policy recommendations, personal reflections and calls to action. Essays longer than 1,000 words or shorter than 600 words will not be considered. Please submit in Word format via email. Submission info .

If you want to get your essays published in a print magazine or an online publication, it’s time to approach the appropriate section editor or send your work via a submissions page. Even in a world where so much content is produced by AI, publications are still interested in receiving great writing written in a conversational tone. Just make sure to follow the guidelines (especially those around word count) and show off your flamboyant writing style in a prestigious online magazine. Next up, you might want to check a list of the top sites that will pay you to write,  or my extensive list of publishing companies .

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Women Who Submit

Submissions: The Harsh Reality and How to Improve Your Odds

By Thea Pueschel

First published by Shut Up & Write  June 3, 2021

A rejection letter leaves many writers devastated. For years, I would submit one to three pieces a year to literary magazines, and if the work received a rejection, it became dead to me. My nonfiction wellness articles had a 98% acceptance rate, leading me to believe I would have no problem getting my fiction and creative nonfiction published. I did not know about the incredibly low acceptance rates of literary magazines. 

There are finite spaces to fill in the literary world, though the internet itself seems infinite. Writers hoping to be published in top-tier literary magazines are faced with startlingly low acceptance rates. According to Duotrope , The New Yorker magazine accepted only 0.14% of 1,447 unsolicited submissions received in a year. The lower-tier magazine Split Lip received 938 unsolicited submissions that same year, and only 0.11% were accepted. 

Rejection feels personal, though it isn’t. It’s a numbers game, even with smaller publications. To prove this, I reached out to Viva Padilla, the editor-in-chief of the annual literary magazine Dryland , and asked her about the submission statistics for her publication. “The most submissions we have ever received [for a single issue] was over 1000,” she said. “Every issue has about 50-55 publishing spots available, with around 40 reserved for poetry.” I did the math. That equates to an acceptance rate of 1%-1.5% for a work of fiction. For poetry, the odds are slightly better at 5%. That’s a rejection rate of 95-99%. The acceptance rate is higher compared to Split Lip and The New Yorker, but even then most of the work is rejected due to space limitations, among other reasons.

The work Dryland publishes is primarily through open calls. Most literary magazines and journals solicit work from writers they know or those with name recognition, presenting an entry barrier to emerging or unrepresented writers. In her 2015 article for The Atlantic, acclaimed writer Joy Lanzendorfer made two interesting assertions. First, that the average published story is likely rejected 20 times before being published; second, that slush pile submissions only account for 1-2% of published work. Simply put, most of the work you see in the literary spaces is based on connection or writer recognition. Despite the rejection stats, and the reality of how many times it takes for a story to stick to a magazine’s pages, this emphasizes the importance of being an active member of the writing community. Editors solicit work from people they know. To be known you have to be an active member of the literary community.

A few years ago, I became a member of Women Who Submit (WWS), a nonprofit focused on elevating the voices of BIPOC, women, and nonbinary writers. This organization helped me see behind the literary curtain. Various members have taken time to offer me guidance and mentorship through both the submission and rejection process. WWS showcases the importance of relationships and elevating each other’s voices. The reality is that writers who know writers get published more, and all editors of literary magazines are writers themselves.

Since having my eyes opened by WWS, I have become a member of other writing communities, including Shut Up and Write. Outside of my WWS bubble, I have seen that other writers in various spaces struggle with the inevitability of rejection like I did. I hope this helps reduce the sting of rejection, and I would encourage you to submit again and again until your work finds its literary home.

Recently, I received a really nice standard rejection from Zyzzyva . The last paragraph said, “I would like to say something to make up for this ungraciousness, but the truth is we have so little space, we must return almost all the work that is submitted, including a great deal that interests us and even some pieces we admire. Inevitably, too, we make mistakes.”

I asked Christopher James, the editor-in-chief of the five-year-old Jellyfish Review , how often his magazine rejects stories they love because of lack of space. He responded, “We frequently say no to a lot of very strong stories, we would never say no to something we loved. We often accept imperfect pieces because we’ve fallen in love with them and hope our readers might fall in love with them too.” As the newer journal matures, they too may have to say no to work they admire. At the moment though, if they read your work and love it they’ll make space for it. Most journals have a limitation and only accept a certain amount of work—Jellyfish is the exception, not the rule.

Rejection is part of the process of getting your work out into the world. Should you default to younger journals? You can, but I believe that as a writer you should submit to the journals that speak to you, the magazines that you envision as a perfect fit. Familiarize yourself with the work they publish, follow their submission guidelines, and keep submitting work that aligns with their aesthetic. It will increase your chances of acceptance.

Even though stats are against them, many writers still manage to succeed, and you could be one of them. I reached out to the writers I know and asked if anyone had received multiple rejections only for a piece to be published later. Carla Sameth, author of “One Day on the Goldline: A Memoir in Essays” shared that her personal essay, “If This Is So, Why Am I?” was rejected 22 times before it was published in The Nervous Breakdown, only to be selected as notable for The Best American Essays of 2019. Just because something receives multiple rejections does not mean it isn’t worthy of recognition, accolades, or publishing. It left me wondering if those other 22 magazine editors felt they missed their window and had inevitably made a mistake.

I asked Kate Maruyama, the author of my favorite novella of 2020, “Family Solstice, ” about her experience. Eighteen editors rejected her first novel “Harrowgate” before it was purchased. A short story of hers was rejected 35 times before being published. “For the short story, rejection number 10 was from Roxane Gay when she was reading for a journal,” Maruyama explained. “She said it wasn’t right for that journal but that it was a damn fine story.” Those words of encouragement along with her writing community kept Maruyama submitting.

To improve your odds and to keep a stiff upper lip when rejection inevitably finds its way to your inbox, here are some pointers to help ease the painful experience:

Take resubmission requests seriously. If a magazine rejects a written piece of yours but asks you to resubmit, they are not being nice. They don’t have time to be nice. They enjoy your work! Resubmit.

Familiarize yourself with the places you want to submit. If editors keep telling you that your work doesn’t fit their publication, read the publication. If you can’t access the publication because of monetary restrictions, look for copies in your local library or read the work of the writers who have recently been published by the magazine or journal. A Google search of the author will find other work of theirs that you can read for free. Compare their aesthetic to your own. Are you a fit? Then it’s a good place to submit!

Make sure your work is submission-ready. This is the number one sin of writers, according to Viva Padilla. Dryland doesn’t edit poetry; “…we expect poems to be ready to go,” she said. “When it comes to fiction and nonfiction that gets rejected, it’s mostly work that doesn’t seem to have a focus where we’re left wondering, what was that about?” Workshop your work with other writers and make sure to check your grammar before you submit.

Don’t expect an editor to provide feedback. If a magazine rejected you without giving a reason, pestering an editor for the “why” will quickly slam doors on future opportunities. Personalized rejections are rare. They are nice when they come in, but an editor doesn’t owe you a reason.

The reality is slush piles at literary magazines are immense, and many editors are volunteers or minimally compensated. These magazines are mostly labors of love for the written word. Rejection may seem personal, but it’s not. Even literary magazine editors get rejections from other publications. The more you submit, the greater the chance your work will find a literary home. The more time you take to prepare and research the best market for your work, the greater your odds for acceptance. Don’t be discouraged when you get a no. Look over your work and see if there are any structural or grammatical issues. If not, submit it again ASAP. If there are errors, fix them and send your piece out again.

Bottom line: it’s time to Shut Up & Submit!

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25 Hot Markets That Publish Humor Writing Submissions

Author: Natalie Harris-Spencer Updated: April 7, 2023

Like many writers, women, and creative humans, I like to think I’m pretty funny. When I was first looking to publish some of my satire, I scoured Submittable for markets publishing humor writing submissions and honestly, I struggled. This isn’t to say that they don’t exist; rather, Submittable showcases more literary magazines and journals because frankly, there are far more literary magazines out there that aspiring authors want to be published in! Satirical writing, like genre writing, requires a little bit of a deeper dive in order to find the best submission spots .

Unlike traditional literary magazines , humor publications tend to be online only, with many of them living out their comedic fantasies on Medium . You may want a “traditional” print pub, but online can be highly advantageous for your humor writing submissions for several reasons:

• High traffic to these websites means you can reach a wider, potentially global audience
• You can get a link back to your website, improving your online authority
• Greater potential for your writing to go viral
• Greater potential to make money, either as a paid contributor or from behind a paywall (Medium)
• Greater potential for a book deal (hey, it’s happened to a fair few McSweeney’s and New Yorker writers)

Humor Writing Submissions: Top 25 Publications

In alphabetical order, here are 25 hot markets that publish humor writing submissions. This list is not exhaustive; it is simply an aggregation of some of the top spots to house your funny words. Some are more (a lot more) competitive than others. There are new markets accepting humor writing submissions cropping up all the time, so editors, please let me know If I am missing anything or if you would like your publication to be included:

Micro-flash humor? Sign me up. Not fewer than 250 or 500 words, but 251 exactly. They call themselves “a daily humor publication dedicated to publishing prose 251 words or shorter, and cartoons that don’t take longer than four seconds to figure out.” They publish lists, confessions, funny-sounding words, obituaries and more.

2. American Bystander

This is one of the rarer print humor magazines, and producer of 251 above. They publish humorous prose and cartoons.

3. The Belladonna

A huge following on Medium, publishes humor by women/non-binary folk.

4. Clickhole

ClickHole’s one core belief is that “all web content deserves to go viral,” and their satirical, absurdist content often does exactly that. They don’t accept unsolicited submissions, but you can apply to be on their contributor roster.

5. Defenestration

This literary journal publishes a wide range of humor writing, including satire, poetry, and unusually, short stories, while visual submissions in any medium are also accepted.

6. Feathertale

Along with its website, Feathertale, the Feathertale Review is published in print twice a year and is distributed in bookstores in the United States and Canada. They are proud publishers of high- and low-brow humor.

7. Greener Pastures Magazine

Another Medium humor website, Green Pastures Magazine is “always looking for a better joke”. They’re looking for any humor pieces between 100 and 700 words, but they don’t accept fake news.

8. The Hard Times

Billed as a very real punk news site (i.e. a bunch of fake news), you can pitch  your funny ideas in batches of 5 headlines at a time.

9. The Haven

A Medium hot-spot that describes itself as “A Place to Be Funny Without Being a Jerk.” In other words, no gross, shock, or potty humor; purist comedy is best (although snark and swearing are encouraged).

10. The Honeypot

Sexy humor on Medium. Here for it.

11. Little Old Lady Comedy

Founded in 2017, LOLC features daily humor articles from over 500 contributors. Topics vary from marriage, to food, to the writing life.

12. Listverse

Where listicles come to party. Listverse publishes offbeat, humorous lists that uncover unexpected realities.

13. The Daily Mash

Like The Onion , but British. I especially enjoy their “whatever” response to opt-in to cookies. They do not accept unsolicited submissions, but are always happy to hear from new writers.

14. McSweeney’s Internet Tendency

The OG of satire, McSweeney’s has been around since 1998 and is regarded as the ultimate coup in humor writing. “ It’s Decorative Gourd Season… ” (expletives) might just be their best article of all time. Extra bonus: the editors get back to you in just two weeks.

15. The New Yorker: Shouts & Murmurs

Next to McSweeney’s , getting published in The New Yorker ’s Shouts & Murmurs section is the holy grail of humor writing submissions. They don’t accept personal essays and prefer evergreen content. Even for such a mammoth publication, they read all submissions and respond within six months, which is nice. Best of luck!

16. The Offing: Wit Tea

Oh, witty. Get it? While The Offing is an online literary magazine, it promotes all genres and forms, hence its special humor writing section, Wit Tea.

17. Points in Case

This well-established daily humor publication has been running for nearly twenty-five years. It trends more on the literary side, with “punchy, elevated concept writing” and their response time is lightning fast: 10-14 days.

18. Reader’s Digest: Funny & Humor

This publishing behemoth not only accepts humor writing, but it notoriously pays handsomely. They’re looking for jokes, puns, riddles, and real-life funny stories. A little on the broad side of comedy, but who cares when you’re bringing home the bacon?

19. Reductress

This female-only satire magazine offers podcasts, workshops, and opens for pitches sporadically throughout the year.

20. The Rumpus: Funny Women

A paying market for women only, and a super fun website to boot. For some literary humor, I recommend “ A Literary Agent’s Manuscript Wish List ”.

21. The Satirist

Dubbed as “America’s most critical journal since 1999,” The Satirist holds a special place in my heart for publishing my first ever humor piece . The editor, Dan Geddes, is super nice. In addition to satire, they publish features, parody, “fake news”, fiction, poems, book reviews, movie reviews and essays.

22. Scary Mommy

For every mother at every stage, this non-patronizing (duh) publication publishes the light, the heavy, and everything in between.

23. Slackjaw

The largest humor site on Medium, Slackjaw is a prestigious humor site and the “#1 destination for all-things humor and think-pieces on cats”.

24. Suddenly Senior

Jokes and lolz for a more mature audience. The editors are looking for humor, wit, and wisdom.

25. Weekly Humorist

Weekly Humorist asks if you dream of being a highly paid, ​famous comedy writer? Living the opulent life that goes with such a lofty ​title? Well, this is not the publication for you. However, you get a pub cred. Score.

Recommended reading

Here at Aspiring Author , we love recommending bestsellers and fawning over hot new releases. On this real time recommended reading list, you will find a list of top rated books on the publishing industry, craft, and other books to help you elevate your writing career.

The Design of Books: An Explainer for Authors, Editors, Agents, and Other Curious Readers (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing)

The Black Album

My Life in Seventeen Books: A Literary Memoir

Poet's Market 34th Edition: The Most Trusted Guide to Publishing Poetry

Cursive Handwriting Workbook for Teens: A cursive writing practice workbook for young adults and teens

About the author.

Natalie Harris-Spencer

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Publication

The New Yorker "Shouts & Murmurs" Submissions

College Level

Description:

Please send your submission (as a PDF attachment) to [email protected] . We read all submissions and try to respond within ninety days. We ask that you not send us more than one submission at a time, and that you wait to hear back about each pending submission before sending another. Keep in mind that Shouts & Murmurs are humorous fiction; first-person essays will not be considered.

https://www.newyorker.com/about/contact?verso=true

Writing Type

International

COACHING + PUBLISHING

FORMATTING + DESIGN

FREELANCE COMMUNITY

• 18 Literary Magazines Accepting Submissions in 2024

Erin Duchesne

Literary Magazines Accepting Submissions in 2024

Asimov’s science fiction, the georgia review, the gettysburg review, harper’s magazine, the iowa review, the kenyon review, narrative magazine, new england review, the new yorker, the paris review, ploughshares, poetry magazine, the sewanee review, the sun magazine.

Are you a creative or literary writer looking to share your words with a larger audience of your peers? Then look no further than these literary magazines accepting submissions!

The new year is just around the corner and there are plenty of literary magazines looking for high-quality writing for their next issue. Here is a list of some of the best literary magazines accepting submissions for next year. 

Literary magazines are periodicals, which are dedicated to publishing poetry, short stories, essays and more from writers at every stage of their careers. Here are 18 now accepting submissions. Unless otherwise indicated, all payments are in American Dollars.

AGNI , Boston University’s literary magazine, accepts a wide variety of works for their online and print publications. The publication accepts poems, short stories, think pieces, essays, reviews and memoirs from writers all around the world. 

• Submission dates: September 1 to December 15; February 14 to May 31
• Payment: $20 per page for prose; $40 per page for poetry (to a maximum of $300)

The world’s leading science fiction magazine, Asimov’s Science Fiction , seeks character-oriented stories examining the human experience. They accept stories between 1,000 and 20,000 words from a wide range of topics in the science fiction genre. 

• Submission dates: Rolling
• Payment: $0.08 to $0.10 per word for stories up to 7,500 words; $0.08 per word for stories over 7,500 words; $1 per line of poetry, up to 40 lines

Since 1947, the University of Georgia has published The Georgia Review . The goal of this publication is to promote essays, poems, book reviews and fiction that challenges readers and creates dialogue.

• Submission dates: August 16 to May 14
• Payment: $50 per page of prose (up to $800); $4 per line of poetry (up to $800); $150 for book reviews

Printed at the University of Gettysburg, The Gettysburg Review is one of the top literary magazines in the United States. This publication seeks high-quality submissions of poetry, fiction, essays and essay reviews for their tri-annual issues. 

• Submission dates: September 1 to May 31; graphics accepted year-round
• Payment: $3 per line of poetry (maximum $300); $30 per page of prose 

Granta is a literary magazine devoted to promoting talented new voices in the literary writing world. Each year, this publication accepts unsolicited poetry, fiction and nonfiction work during their four reading periods. Granta strives to open doors and remove barriers by offering 200 free submissions per year to low-income and/or marginalized writers. 

• Submission dates: March 1 to 31; June 1 to 30; September 1 to 30; December 1 to 31
• Payment: The website states they pay “professional rates”

Harper’s Magazine publishes fiction and non-fiction pieces in each of their monthly issues. To submit a non-fiction piece, writers must send a query to their New York City office. For fiction, Harper’s Magazine accepts unsolicited submissions of physical copies. 

• Payment: Unspecified

Published three times a year through the University of Iowa, The Iowa Review has been continuously published for more than 50 years. The Iowa Review accepts online and hard copy submissions of unpublished poetry, fiction and non-fiction work.

• Submission dates: August 1 to October 1 for fiction and poetry; August 1 to November 1 for non-fiction
• Payment: $1.50 per line of poetry (minimum $100); $0.08 per word of prose (minimum $100)

The 2024 themes for The Kenyon Review  are extinction, writing from rural spaces and literary curiosities. This literary magazine accepting submissions is seeking essays, short fiction, flash fiction, poetry, plays and excerpts of larger works through their online portal.

• Submission dates: September 1 to 30
• Payment: $80 to $450 for prose ($0.08 per word); $40 to $200 for poetry ($0.16 per word)

Narrative is a nonprofit organization devoted to supporting and promoting literary writers and improving literacy worldwide. Narrative Magazine accepts a wide variety of submissions through their online portal and also awards annual prizes for the best works in multiple categories. 

• Payment: $200 minimum for poems; $250 to $500 for manuscripts between 500 and 2,000 words; $500 to $1,000 for manuscripts between 2,000 and 15,000 words; $100 for reader’s narratives

New England Review is seeking submissions for all genres, particularly fiction, non-fiction, dramatic writing and poetry from writers of all backgrounds. Writers can submit their unpublished work to New England Review online portal or through the mail along with a cover letter.

• Submission dates: September 1 to November 1; March 1 to May 1
• Payment: $50 and one-year magazine subscription (for publication in NER Digital); $20 per page plus two copies of the issue and a one-year subscription (for publication in the journal)

The New Yorker , often thought of as the top literary magazine in the world, accepts submissions of cartoons, letters to the editor, shouts and murmurs, fiction and poetry. 

As the name suggests, One Story focuses on publishing one story at a time. This literary publication launched in 2002, after the publishers noticed many small literary magazines shutting down and short stories disappearing from mainstream publications. One Story is seeking submissions of short stories of any style and topic between 3,000 and 8,000 words.

• Submission dates: Opening in early 2024
• Payment: $500 and 25 contributors copies

The Paris Review  accepts hard-copy unpublished works of prose and poetry at different points of the year for their quarterly issues. 

• Submission dates: March and September for prose; January, April, July and October for poetry
• Payment: $100 per poem; $1,000 to $3,000 for fiction; reimburses expenses for nonfiction projects

Ploughshares at Emerson College is a leading literary magazines and publishes short-form and long-form works including fiction, nonfiction and poetry. 

• Submission dates: June 1 to January 15 
• Payment: $45 per printed page; $90 minimum per title; $450 maximum per author

POETRY Magazine publishes all types of unpublished poetry, including text, audio, video and visual formats as well as some prose works. 

• Submission dates: September 16 to June 14
• Payment: $10 per line (minimum $300) for text poems; $300 for visual, audio and video poems; $150 per page for prose

Dating back to 1892, The Sewanee Review is the oldest continuously published quarterly literary magazine in America. The publication accepts submissions of essays, poems and book reviews through their online portal most of the year. 

• Submission dates: September 1 to May 31
• Payment: Minimum $100 for poetry and $300 for prose plus more depending on line and word count

The Sun Magazine publishes thought-provoking poems, essays, short stories and black-and-white photographs by new and established contributors from around the world. 

• Payment: $200+ based on length

Formerly Crazyhorse, swamp pink publishes a semi-monthly online literary magazine featuring fiction, non-fiction and poetry. 

• Submission dates: September 1 to December 31; February 1 to May 31; prize submissions are accepted in January
• Payment: $40 for poems; $0.05 per word for prose

Whether you’re new to the literary world or well-versed, submitting your best creative or thought-provoking pieces to a variety of literary magazines is a great way to get your work and name out there.

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Get Paid to Write: 23 Sites That Pay Freelancers $100+

In this list of sites that pay freelance writers, we’ve identified new markets we haven’t featured before. And even though these sites represent a variety of different niches, they all have one thing in common.

These are sites that pay $100 or more for blog posts, articles, essays, tutorials, and other types of writing assignments.

Thanks for your submissions for the Holi Writing Challenge 2023. Keep your articles coming! Meanwhile, please note that we will be able to review all your submissions by April 5, 2023 , due to the volume of them we receive. All the participants will also be notified via email. Thanks for your patience!

• Content Writers, Copywriters , Editors , General , Literary & Creative Writers , Translators

Call for Submissions by The New Yorker: Rolling Submissions!

• Saheb Nanda
• August 23, 2022

The New Yorker is inviting submissions from writers for Fiction, Poetry, Shouts & Murmurs, Daily Shouts, Cartoons, and more!

About The New Yorker

In 1925, Harold Ross established  The New Yorker  as a lighthearted, Manhattan-centric magazine—a “fifteen-cent comic paper,” he called it. Today  The New Yorker  is considered by many to be the most influential magazine in the world, renowned for its in-depth reporting, political and cultural commentary, fiction, poetry, and humor.

Submission Guidelines and How to Submit

• Fiction submissions:  Please send your submissions (as PDF attachments) to  fiction[at]newyorker[dot]com , or by mail to Fiction Editor, The New Yorker, 1 World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. The New Yorker reads all submissions within ninety days, and will contact you if they’re interested in publishing your material.
• Poetry submissions:  Poetry is reviewed on a rolling basis. They accept submissions via  Submittable  only. Send up to six poems (in a single document) per submission, but please do not submit more than twice in twelve months. They do not consider work that has appeared elsewhere (this includes all Web sites and personal blogs). We are interested in translations of poems that have never been published in English.
• Shouts & Murmurs and Daily Shouts submissions:  Send your submission (as a PDF attachment) to  TNY_Shouts[at]newyorker[dot]com . The New Yorker reads all submissions and try to respond within six months. They ask that you not send us more than one submission at a time, and that you wait to hear back about each pending submission before sending another. Keep in mind that Shouts & Murmurs are humorous fiction; first-person essays will not be considered.
• Cartoon submissions:  Cartoons are reviewed on a rolling basis. You may send as many as ten cartoons per submission, but please do not submit more than once a month. They do not consider work that has appeared elsewhere (including on Web sites and personal blogs), and do not consider ideas for cartoons, only fully drawn cartoons. We also do not consider illustrations, caricatures, or covers. They do not accept submissions via mail or e-mail; instead, please upload your work via  Submittable .
• Other submissions:  The New Yorker does not consider unsolicited Talk of the Town stories or other nonfiction.

To read the official submission guidelines by The New Yorker, click here.

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Lia Purpura is the author of nine collections of essays, poems, and translations. A finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for On Looking (essays, Sarabande Books), she has also received Guggenheim, NEA, and Fulbright Fellowships, as well as five Pushcart Prizes, the Associated Writing Programs Award in Nonfiction, and other honors. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker , The New Republic , Orion , The Paris Review , The Georgia Review , AGNI , Emergence , and elsewhere. She lives in Baltimore, where she is writer in residence at The University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She has taught in the Rainier Writing Workshop’s MFA program, at Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, in The University of Iowa’s nonfiction MFA program, and at conferences, workshops, and graduate programs throughout the country. Her newest collection of poems is It Shouldn’t Have Been Beautiful (Penguin), and her latest collection of essays is All the Fierce Tethers (Sarabande Books). She  is a contributing editor of AGNI . (updated 4/2017)

Purpura’s AGNI essay “Glaciology” won a Pushcart Prize and is reprinted in the 2006 anthology.

Our Trump reporting upsets some readers, but there aren’t two sides to facts: Letter from the Editor

• Updated: Apr. 06, 2024, 10:27 a.m. |
• Published: Mar. 30, 2024, 8:16 a.m.

Some readers complain that we have different standards involving Donald Trump and Joe Biden. (AP Photo, File) AP

• Chris Quinn, Editor, cleveland.com/The Plain Dealer

A more-than-occasional arrival in the email these days is a question expressed two ways, one with dripping condescension and the other with courtesy:

Why don’t our opinion platforms treat Donald Trump and other politicians exactly the same way. Some phrase it differently, asking why we demean the former president’s supporters in describing his behavior as monstrous, insurrectionist and authoritarian.

I feel for those who write. They believe in Trump and want their local news source to recognize what they see in him.

The angry writers denounce me for ignoring what they call the Biden family crime syndicate and criminality far beyond that of Trump. They quote news sources of no credibility as proof the mainstream media ignores evidence that Biden, not Trump, is the criminal dictator.

The courteous writers don’t go down that road. They politely ask how we can discount the passions and beliefs of the many people who believe in Trump.

Chris Quinn's recent Letters from the Editor

• Around the globe and the nation, thousands thank us for telling the truth about Trump: Letter from the Editor
• Voices of hope. Voices of anxiety. Tears of gratitude. A global response to how we tell the truth about Donald Trump
• Let’s hang it up on polling. In election after election, they get it wrong: Letter from the Editor

This is a tough column to write, because I don’t want to demean or insult those who write me in good faith. I’ve started it a half dozen times since November but turned to other topics each time because this needle is hard to thread. No matter how I present it, I’ll offend some thoughtful, decent people.

The north star here is truth. We tell the truth, even when it offends some of the people who pay us for information.

The truth is that Donald Trump undermined faith in our elections in his false bid to retain the presidency. He sparked an insurrection intended to overthrow our government and keep himself in power. No president in our history has done worse.

This is not subjective. We all saw it. Plenty of leaders today try to convince the masses we did not see what we saw, but our eyes don’t deceive. (If leaders began a yearslong campaign today to convince us that the Baltimore bridge did not collapse Tuesday morning, would you ever believe them?) Trust your eyes. Trump on Jan. 6 launched the most serious threat to our system of government since the Civil War. You know that. You saw it.

The facts involving Trump are crystal clear, and as news people, we cannot pretend otherwise, as unpopular as that might be with a segment of our readers. There aren’t two sides to facts. People who say the earth is flat don’t get space on our platforms. If that offends them, so be it.

As for those who equate Trump and Joe Biden, that’s false equivalency. Biden has done nothing remotely close to the egregious, anti-American acts of Trump. We can debate the success and mindset of our current president, as we have about most presidents in our lifetimes, but Biden was never a threat to our democracy. Trump is. He is unique among all American presidents for his efforts to keep power at any cost.

Personally, I find it hard to understand how Americans who take pride in our system of government support Trump. All those soldiers who died in World War II were fighting against the kind of regime Trump wants to create on our soil. How do they not see it?

The March 25 edition of the New Yorker magazine offers some insight. It includes a detailed review of a new book about Adolf Hitler, focused on the year 1932. It’s called “Takeover: Hitler’s Final Rise to Power” and is by historian Timothy W. Ryback. It explains how German leaders – including some in the media -- thought they could use Hitler as a means to get power for themselves and were willing to look past his obvious deficiencies to get where they wanted. In tolerating and using Hitler as a means to an end, they helped create the monstrous dictator responsible for millions of deaths.

How are those German leaders different from people in Congress saying the election was stolen or that Jan. 6 was not an insurrection aimed at destroying our government? They know the truth, but they deny it. They see Trump as a means to an end – power for themselves and their “team” – even if it means repeatedly telling lies.

Sadly, many believe the lies. They trust people in authority, without questioning the obvious discrepancies or relying on their own eyes. These are the people who take offense to the truths we tell about Trump. No one in our newsroom gets up in the morning wanting to make a segment of readers feel bad. No one seeks to demean anyone. We understand what a privilege it is to be welcomed into the lives of the millions of people who visit our platforms each month for news, sports and entertainment. But our duty is to the truth.

Our nation does seem to be slipping down the same slide that Germany did in the 1930s. Maybe the collapse of government in the hands of a madman is inevitable, given how the media landscape has been corrupted by partisans, as it was in 1930s Germany.

I hope not.

In our newsroom, we’ll do our part. Much as it offends some who read us, we will continue to tell the truth about Trump.

I’m at mailto:[email protected]

Thanks for reading.

( Note: A follow-up column about the overwhelming international response to this piece can be found here , and a sampling of the responses can be found here .)

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That Viral Essay Wasn’t About Age Gaps. It Was About Marrying Rich.

But both tactics are flawed if you want to have any hope of becoming yourself..

Women are wisest, a viral essay in New York magazine’s the Cut argues , to maximize their most valuable cultural assets— youth and beauty—and marry older men when they’re still very young. Doing so, 27-year-old writer Grazie Sophia Christie writes, opens up a life of ease, and gets women off of a male-defined timeline that has our professional and reproductive lives crashing irreconcilably into each other. Sure, she says, there are concessions, like one’s freedom and entire independent identity. But those are small gives in comparison to a life in which a person has no adult responsibilities, including the responsibility to become oneself.

This is all framed as rational, perhaps even feminist advice, a way for women to quit playing by men’s rules and to reject exploitative capitalist demands—a choice the writer argues is the most obviously intelligent one. That other Harvard undergraduates did not busy themselves trying to attract wealthy or soon-to-be-wealthy men seems to flummox her (taking her “high breasts, most of my eggs, plausible deniability when it came to purity, a flush ponytail, a pep in my step that had yet to run out” to the Harvard Business School library, “I could not understand why my female classmates did not join me, given their intelligence”). But it’s nothing more than a recycling of some of the oldest advice around: For women to mold themselves around more-powerful men, to never grow into independent adults, and to find happiness in a state of perpetual pre-adolescence, submission, and dependence. These are odd choices for an aspiring writer (one wonders what, exactly, a girl who never wants to grow up and has no idea who she is beyond what a man has made her into could possibly have to write about). And it’s bad advice for most human beings, at least if what most human beings seek are meaningful and happy lives.

But this is not an essay about the benefits of younger women marrying older men. It is an essay about the benefits of younger women marrying rich men. Most of the purported upsides—a paid-for apartment, paid-for vacations, lives split between Miami and London—are less about her husband’s age than his wealth. Every 20-year-old in the country could decide to marry a thirtysomething and she wouldn’t suddenly be gifted an eternal vacation.

Which is part of what makes the framing of this as an age-gap essay both strange and revealing. The benefits the writer derives from her relationship come from her partner’s money. But the things she gives up are the result of both their profound financial inequality and her relative youth. Compared to her and her peers, she writes, her husband “struck me instead as so finished, formed.” By contrast, “At 20, I had felt daunted by the project of becoming my ideal self.” The idea of having to take responsibility for her own life was profoundly unappealing, as “adulthood seemed a series of exhausting obligations.” Tying herself to an older man gave her an out, a way to skip the work of becoming an adult by allowing a father-husband to mold her to his desires. “My husband isn’t my partner,” she writes. “He’s my mentor, my lover, and, only in certain contexts, my friend. I’ll never forget it, how he showed me around our first place like he was introducing me to myself: This is the wine you’ll drink, where you’ll keep your clothes, we vacation here, this is the other language we’ll speak, you’ll learn it, and I did.”

These, by the way, are the things she says are benefits of marrying older.

The downsides are many, including a basic inability to express a full range of human emotion (“I live in an apartment whose rent he pays and that constrains the freedom with which I can ever be angry with him”) and an understanding that she owes back, in some other form, what he materially provides (the most revealing line in the essay may be when she claims that “when someone says they feel unappreciated, what they really mean is you’re in debt to them”). It is clear that part of what she has paid in exchange for a paid-for life is a total lack of any sense of self, and a tacit agreement not to pursue one. “If he ever betrayed me and I had to move on, I would survive,” she writes, “but would find in my humor, preferences, the way I make coffee or the bed nothing that he did not teach, change, mold, recompose, stamp with his initials.”

Reading Christie’s essay, I thought of another one: Joan Didion’s on self-respect , in which Didion argues that “character—the willingness to accept responsibility for one’s own life—is the source from which self-respect springs.” If we lack self-respect, “we are peculiarly in thrall to everyone we see, curiously determined to live out—since our self-image is untenable—their false notions of us.” Self-respect may not make life effortless and easy. But it means that whenever “we eventually lie down alone in that notoriously un- comfortable bed, the one we make ourselves,” at least we can fall asleep.

It can feel catty to publicly criticize another woman’s romantic choices, and doing so inevitably opens one up to accusations of jealousy or pettiness. But the stories we tell about marriage, love, partnership, and gender matter, especially when they’re told in major culture-shaping magazines. And it’s equally as condescending to say that women’s choices are off-limits for critique, especially when those choices are shared as universal advice, and especially when they neatly dovetail with resurgent conservative efforts to make women’s lives smaller and less independent. “Marry rich” is, as labor economist Kathryn Anne Edwards put it in Bloomberg, essentially the Republican plan for mothers. The model of marriage as a hierarchy with a breadwinning man on top and a younger, dependent, submissive woman meeting his needs and those of their children is not exactly a fresh or groundbreaking ideal. It’s a model that kept women trapped and miserable for centuries.

It’s also one that profoundly stunted women’s intellectual and personal growth. In her essay for the Cut, Christie seems to believe that a life of ease will abet a life freed up for creative endeavors, and happiness. But there’s little evidence that having material abundance and little adversity actually makes people happy, let alone more creatively generativ e . Having one’s basic material needs met does seem to be a prerequisite for happiness. But a meaningful life requires some sense of self, an ability to look outward rather than inward, and the intellectual and experiential layers that come with facing hardship and surmounting it.

A good and happy life is not a life in which all is easy. A good and happy life (and here I am borrowing from centuries of philosophers and scholars) is one characterized by the pursuit of meaning and knowledge, by deep connections with and service to other people (and not just to your husband and children), and by the kind of rich self-knowledge and satisfaction that comes from owning one’s choices, taking responsibility for one’s life, and doing the difficult and endless work of growing into a fully-formed person—and then evolving again. Handing everything about one’s life over to an authority figure, from the big decisions to the minute details, may seem like a path to ease for those who cannot stomach the obligations and opportunities of their own freedom. It’s really an intellectual and emotional dead end.

And what kind of man seeks out a marriage like this, in which his only job is to provide, but very much is owed? What kind of man desires, as the writer cast herself, a raw lump of clay to be molded to simply fill in whatever cracks in his life needed filling? And if the transaction is money and guidance in exchange for youth, beauty, and pliability, what happens when the young, beautiful, and pliable party inevitably ages and perhaps feels her backbone begin to harden? What happens if she has children?

The thing about using youth and beauty as a currency is that those assets depreciate pretty rapidly. There is a nearly endless supply of young and beautiful women, with more added each year. There are smaller numbers of wealthy older men, and the pool winnows down even further if one presumes, as Christie does, that many of these men want to date and marry compliant twentysomethings. If youth and beauty are what you’re exchanging for a man’s resources, you’d better make sure there’s something else there—like the basic ability to provide for yourself, or at the very least a sense of self—to back that exchange up.

It is hard to be an adult woman; it’s hard to be an adult, period. And many women in our era of unfinished feminism no doubt find plenty to envy about a life in which they don’t have to work tirelessly to barely make ends meet, don’t have to manage the needs of both children and man-children, could simply be taken care of for once. This may also explain some of the social media fascination with Trad Wives and stay-at-home girlfriends (some of that fascination is also, I suspect, simply a sexual submission fetish , but that’s another column). Fantasies of leisure reflect a real need for it, and American women would be far better off—happier, freer—if time and resources were not so often so constrained, and doled out so inequitably.

But the way out is not actually found in submission, and certainly not in electing to be carried by a man who could choose to drop you at any time. That’s not a life of ease. It’s a life of perpetual insecurity, knowing your spouse believes your value is decreasing by the day while his—an actual dollar figure—rises. A life in which one simply allows another adult to do all the deciding for them is a stunted life, one of profound smallness—even if the vacations are nice.